Coded card segregating means



F. L. WALKER, JR., ETAL 2,645,226

CODED CARD SEGREGATING MEANS July 14, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 16. 1950 INVENTORS ATTORNEY n, rt

July 14, 1953 F. L. WALKER, JR, EI'AL.

CODED CARD SEGREGATING MEANS 4 Shoots-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 16, 1950 4 w m mam? (@00000000000100000 odoooooooooooooboooo ooooouoooloooooooooooouo W. 0 @J 0 1 0 6. 0 o 0 0 00 so 00 72% 1 0(00 I I l I..'................ :0.00000000QOOOOOUOOOOO OO Ionooo...0000000000060000 .oooocooo0.000000000000005 mvsmons Fred L WlZ/(GJW/IT WE.Storl Jr.

July 14, 1953 F. L. WALKER, JR, 'ETAL cobEu CARD SEGREGATING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 16, 1950 INVENTORS Had L. WaLKQr. 11

-,oodoq-qooo 'pooordouo 000000000 WE.S'i:Orq, Jr.

y 4, 1953 F. WALKER, JR, ETAL 2,645,226

CODED CARD SEGREGATIVNG MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 16, 1950 INVENTOR Fred L. Wallfr, 1/1:

ATTORNEY ofone of'the rods; 7 r

Patented July 14, 1953 V ,C'ODED CARD UNITED STAT-ES j Fred L. Walker, Jr., South Charleston, Ohio, and

-, l William E. Story, Jr., Cape May, N. J.

' Application January 16, 1950, Serial No; 138,884

- This-invention relates ing of tabularfandstatistical data, and is particularly concerned-with the sorting or segregating ofcards in accordance with the'data recorded thereon by means of punched slots or the like.

More specifically,- it is an object of the present invention toprovide a simplified method and apparatus for rapidly searching library or business card'index files and-segregating-the cards in accordance with the desired subject or combination of subjects; 7

. --It is a'fu'rtherobject of the invention to code thecards accordingtosubje'ct matter by punching'the same toprovide cut-out portions having more 'or less triangular or inverted L shapes so as to'permit 'the ca rds to be raised and moved laterally in the segregating operation Another object of the'inven-tion resides in the provision of anapparatus'for use'with the coded cards so that the latter maybe readily raised and moved laterally accordance" with th indicia thereon to segregate cards bearing the degenerally' to the compil-I 2 i Figures 14, land 16 are detail views showing the sequential positions of the 'cam pins and lugs operated thereby. I

As mentioned above, the invention is intended primarily for use in connection with index cards 7 of the general type used in card index cabinets and accordingly the drawings illustrate a drawer I such as used in conventionalcabinets ofthat type. This drawer or container is provided with side walls 2, bottom 3, and a rear reinforcing bracket 4 connecting the side wallsl. I This drawer differs from conventional. card index drawers in that it is open at'the front and rear;

the front end being provided with the U.-'shapedframe element 5. Also the bottom 3 is covered by a secondary bottom member 6 of inverted U-shaped construction and having the edges of sired indicia fromthe other cardsin the stack;

"Figure an enlarged front 'elevational'view of'th'e apparatus with' the -U-shaped; frame removed and-there1ated parts shown in section;

*'-"Figures 6; 7' and S ar fragmentary detailed its flanges l resting onth primary bottom -3 as clearly shown in Fi 5. This secondary bottom is provided with front and rear flanges 8 which form bearing members for a shaft 9 which carries the operating cam and arm to belater described. Mounted within the drawer or container I'for vertical movement, is a bottomless frameflll' formed of metal or the like andcomprising. side walls-l l, perforated end walls I2, and perforated partitions 13. This frame member is open at its top and bottom and theend walls 12 and partitions I3 are provided with uniformly spaced apertures M which correspond withsimilar perforations l5 formed in the index cards [6 with which the present apparatus is to be'used. For sup.-

porting the cards [6 within the frame II! when the latter is to be raised in the manner to' be indicated hereinafter, a plurality of rods I1, de-

. pending in number upon the maximum number of sectional viewsshowing thevarious-positions of a 's'elected card with respect to the rod or rods which extend through the master or coded slots formed therein and the 'se'lector'bargi Figures -9 andlO are views similar to Figure 5 but showing various positions of the cards; ca operatedmeans, selector bar; etc.;. i V a Figure 11 is a plan view, partly broken away,

*Fig'ure 12 is an exploded view of one of the cams and arms foroperating' the frame together with'the' portions of the frame, selector bar, etc.; I Fig'ure 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through'the'front of the segregating mechanism "when placed in elevated positionby the elevating farm; and,. 1.1" m

code markings, is provided. ,These rods; are threaded throughthe aperturesin front wall; 12 of the frame, the cards; It, the partitions l3 and the rear wall l2,v it being understood of course that the partitions l3 are intended primarily-for the purpose of maintaining the cardsiinvertical position when the drawer. is only partly filled and for preventing the sagging of the rods under the weight of the cards.

F Mounted for lateral sliding movementwith respect tothe frame I0 is a selector bar lBiprovidedwitha groove 19 in its upper surface adapt- 1 frame, as viewed in Fig. 9, and which is normally in contact with the edges of the cards, isprovided with downwardly extending arms 20 at its front and rear endsiwhich terminateiin lateral iexten- 1 sions il slidablyt positioned. on theffrontandrear OFFICE, 1

to raise the frame III to its maximum height."

The extensions 2I of the legs ofthe selector bar I8 are provided on their undersurfaces with lugs 21 adapted to be engaged by the upper ends of the arms 26 and move the extensions 2I and selector bar I8 to the right as clearly shown in Fig. 10. The arms 26 which are looselymounted on the ends of the shaft 9 are provided with a 1 lost motion connection with the cams 24 b means of pins 28 which extend inwardlyof the cams and engage shoulders 26 and 26 on opposite sides of the arms to raise and lower them at the proper times. The outer faces of the cams 24 are each provided with a single pin 29 which serves to engage the right hand edge of the lugs 30' also formed on the extensions 2 I and return th selector bar I8 to its original position.

In order to stabilize the frame I6 in its vertical mov ments the rear side of one of the legs of the U-shaped frame member 5 is provided with a guide slot 3| which receives the front edge of one of the side walls II of the frame. Likewise the rear portionof the container or drawer I is provided with a vertically extending guide bar 32 provided with a slot 33 on itsinner face for slidably receiving-the rearend ofthe adjacent side wall I I of the frame.

The cards I6, as already mentioned, are formed with uniformly spaced apertures I5 which substantially cover the lower three quarters of the card. Also the cards to be used in the segregating apparatus are provided on one of their edges, the right hand edge in the present embodiment, with downwardly extending hooks or beaks 35., These hooks 35 may be integrally formed with the cards and serve to cooperate with the slot I9 in the upper surface of the selector bar I8 whereby the selected cards may be readily moved laterally to segregate them from the unselected cards within the container I. In order that, this two-way movement of the cards may take place, the cards i may be coded by means of triangular cut out apertures and upon the extent of movement of the selector bar I8. It is to be noted also that any one card may be coded with the numberof master cut-outs 36 necessary to recordthereon the various categories of the statistical data being digested. Furthermore the mastercut-outs 36 will be placed on the cards at various positions in accordance with the particular master code devised for the coding system.

In the operation of the device the rods Ilare I inserted through thefront wall I2 of the frame III in accordance with th master code, for the selection of the particular cards,.and for example, the rods I! are shown as being passed through the aperture located at the intersection of the second row .of horizontal apertures. I5 (Fig. :5)

and the second vertical row from the left, and the second aperture in the last vertical row at the right. In order to readily ascertain the particular apertures through which the rods II are to be inserted, the upper edge of the front wall I2 of the frame I0 may be provided with indicia 31. Such indicia may also be applied to thevertical edge of the front wall if desired. After the rods have been inserted at the proper locations the knob 25 is rotated to cause the cam 24 to partly raise the frame I0 and the cards, through the medium of the rods I'I. If there were no friction between the various cards within the frame ID the selected cards would remain in their lowermost position due to the vertical length of the master cut-outs 36.

However the cards to be selected may sometimes be raised because of friction' with the unselected cards. To rectify this possible faulty operation, the arms 26 are rotated in'a clockwise direction to'raise the frame I0 above the high points of the cams 24 and are then rotated in a counter-clockwise direction to allow the frame to drop onto the cams. This operation is performed by the pin 28 at the left of cam 24 (Fig. 12) engaging shoulder 26' to rotate the arm 26 to a position about as shown in Figure 9 wherein the arm is at the left of the vertical, the shaft is then moved counterclockwise to remove this pin 28 from its support of the arm 26. Consequently the frame III will be allowed to drop onto the high point of cam 24 or thereabout, since the high point of the cam has now been brought into its u per position as the shaft 9 is rotated counterclockwise to remove pin 26 from its engagement with shoulder 26' on the arm 26. Several repetitions of this operation will insure the jarring of the selected cards downwardly until the upper walls of their cut-outs 36 engage the rods II. In this phase of the operation the cams 24 serve as anvils in receiving the blows of the frame I0. When the cards have descended in the manner indicated, or if they initially remain below the unselected cards when the frame is raised, their hook portions 35 will enter the groove I9 in the selector bar I8. Continued movement of the arms 26 to the right cause their free ends to engage the lugs 21 on the under-surfaces of the extensions 2| so that the selector bar is moved to the right as shown in Fig. 10. This movement of course will withdraw the selected cards laterally with respect to the unselected cards, lateral movement of which is prevented by the pinsQand thereafter the rods I! are Withdrawn so as to allow the unselected cards to descend to the bottom of the drawer or container I so that they rest-upon the secondary bottom 6 of the container, while the selected cards are maintained in their elevated position by the selector bar I8. By thus segregating'the cards the data 38 which appears on the unperforated'upper portions of the cards may readily be observed and noted as desired.

In the event that only one piece of information is to be obtained and if this particular piece of information is coded near the left hand lower corner of the cards, it will be apparent that the opposite ends of the cards might have a tendency to rotate about the pin, and to overcome this .possible difliculty each of the cards is provided on its upper edge with a notch 39 and the segregating apparatus is provided with a bar 40 adapted to be seated in the aligned notches 39 of the cards. This bar 40 is mounted on arms II which are pivoted at the upper left hand corner of the front and rear walls I2 of the frame to, and'thus the bar may be swung into and out of operative position with respect to the notches 39..It is to be understood of course that this accessory 3940 need only be used for the purpose just mentioned, namely, when the coded information to be selected appears onl near the left hand lower corner of the card.

After the selected cards, have been segregated and the required data copied therefrom, the ap paratus is returned to its initial position by turning theknob and shaft 9 to the left, thereby allowing the frame or tray ID to descend, first onto the nose of the cam 24 and then as the counter-clockwise rotation is continued, to descend further into position onto the secondary bottom 6 of the container. Further rotation of the shaft 9 to the;left causes the pin 29 to engage the lug 30 and to return the selector I 8 into position under the hooks of the several cards in the frame In pushing back with it th previously selected cards. The selector is now ready for another operation.

From the foregoing description taken in CD11: nection with the accompanying drawings it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that we have devised a simplified method and'apparatus by means of which coded cards may be readily selected in accordance with information coded thereon and that such operation may be performed while the container or drawer remains in the file cabinet and the cards remain within the drawer. I v

In accordance with the patent statutes we have described what we now believe to be the preferred method and apparatus for segregating coded cards, but inasmuch as various changes may be incorporated in the apparatus without departing from the spirit of the invention it is intended that all such variations be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: y

l. A card for use in a segregating mechanism, said card provided with horizontal and vertical series of uniformly spaced apertures, and one or more master cut-outs formed in said card and spaced from its periphery, said. master cut-out encompassing two vertically adjacent apertures and an aperture laterally adjacent the upper of the two vertically adjacent apertures.

2. A card for use in a segregating mechanism, said card provided with horizontal and vertical series of uniformly spaced apertures, and at least one master cut-out formed in said card and spaced from its periphery, said master cut-out encompassing two vertically adjacent apertures and at least one aperture immediately to the left of the upper of the two vertically adjacent apertures. V

3. A card for use in a segregating mechanism, said card provided with horizontal and vertical series of uniformly spaced apertures, a hook n one edge of the card, and one or more master cut-outs formed in said card and spaced from its periphery, said master cut-out encompassing two vertically adjacent apertures and an aperture laterally adjacent the upper of the two vertically adjacent apertures.

4. A card for use in a segregating mechanism, said card provided with horizontal and vertical series of uniformly spaced apertures, one or more master cut-outs formed in said card and spaced from its periphery, said master cut-out encompassing two vertically adjacent apertures and'anaperture laterally adjacent the upper of the two vertically adjacent apertures, the upper transverse plates, rods. adapted tov be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cut-outs of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted on the bottom ofthe container, means on the shaft for raising and lowering the frame, a selector bar mounted on the frame for lateral movement with respect thereto, a lug connected with the selector bar and adapted to bewengagedby the raising and lowering means to move the selectorbar in one direction, a pin carried by the shaft for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the upper surface of the selector bar for interlo'okingly engaging a card.

6. Card filing apparatus comprising a container'for cards, cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned torepresent statistical data, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cut-outs of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted in the bottom of the container, a cam on the shaft for imparting a prie marily lifting movement to the, frame, an arm on the shaftfor imparting a secondary lifting movement to the frame, a selector bar mounted on the frame for lateral movement with respect thereto, means connected with the selector bar adapted to be engaged by the'arm to move the selector bar in one direction, a pin on the cam for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the upper .surface of the selector barfor interlockingly, engaging a card.

7. Card filing apparatus comprising a container for cards, cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangularfframe in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and throughthe cut-outs of certain of said cards, a .shaft oscillatably mounted in the bottom of the container, arms on the opposite ends of the shaft for raising and lowering the frame, an elongated selector bar on the frame mounted for lateral movement with respect thereto, lugs connected with the opposite ends of the selector bar adapted to be engaged by said arms to move the selector bar in one direction, pins carried by the shaft for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the upper surface of the lowering the frame to segregate certain of the cards, an elongated selector bar extending longitudinally of the frame at one of the upper edges thereof, arms secured to the respective ends of the selector bar and extending to the bottom of the frame, lateral extensions on the lower ends of the arms slidably mounted in the bottom of the frame, lugs on the lateral extensions adapted to be engaged by the arms on the shaft for moving the selector bar in one direction, pins carried by the shaft for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the selector bar for interlockingly engaging segregated cards.

9. Card filing apparatus comprising a container for cards, cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a projection on an edge of each of said cards, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cutouts of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted in the bottom of the container, an arm on the shaft for raising and lowering the frame, an elongated selector bar mounted on the frame for lateral movement with respect thereto, said selector bar provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper surface adapted to receive the projections on the cards, a lug on the selector bar adapted to be engaged by the arm to move the selector bar in one direction, and a pin carried by the shaft for use in mov- Ing the selector bar in the opposite direction.

10. In apparatus for segregating cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a container for the cards, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be. inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cut-outs of certain of said cards, a selector bar slidably mounted on the frame, means on the selector bar for interlocking cooperation with the cards, and rotatable means for raising and lowering the frame and for moving the selector bar laterally with respect to the frame.

11. In apparatus for segregating cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a container for the cards, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cutouts of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted on the bottom of the container, means on the shaft for raising and lowering the frame, a selector bar mounted on the frame for lateral movement with respect thereto, a lug connected with the selector bar and adapted to be engaged by the raising and lowering means to move the selector bar in one direction, a pin carried by the shaft for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the upper surface of the selector bar for interlockingly engaging a card.

12. In apparatus for segregating cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a container for the cards, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cut-outs of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted in the bottom of the container, a cam on the shaft for imparting a primarily lifting movement to the frame, an arm on the shaft for imparting a secondary lifting movement to the frame, a selector bar mounted on the frame for lateral movement with respect thereto, means connected with the selector bar adapted to be engaged by the arm to move the selector bar in one direction, a pin on the cam for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the upper surface of the selector bar for interlockingly engaging a card.

13. In apparatus for segregating cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a container for the cards, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cut-outs of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted in the bottom of the container, arms on the opposite ends of the shaft for raising and lowering the frame, an elongated selector bar on the frame mounted for lateral movement with respect thereto, lugs connected with the opposite ends of the selector bar adapted to be engaged by said arms to move the selector bar in one direction, pins carried by the shaft for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the upper surface of the selector bar for interlockingly engaging a card.

14. In apparatus for segregating cards provided with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a container for the cards, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cut-outs of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted in the bottom of the container, arms on the shaft for raising and lowering the frame for segregating certain of the cards, an elongated selector bar extending longitudinally of the frame at one of the upper edges thereof, arms secured to the respective ends of the selector bar and extending to the bottom of the frame, lateral extensions on the lower ends of the arms slidably mounted in the bottom of the frame, lugs on the lateral extensions adapted to be engaged by the arms on the shaft for moving the selector bar in one direction, pins carried by the shaft for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction, and means on the selector bar for interlockingly engaging segregated cards.

15. In apparatus for segregating cards each provided with a projection on an edge and with uniformly spaced apertures and master cut-outs positioned to represent statistical data, a container for the cards, a vertically movable bottomless, rectangular frame in the container, said frame including uniformly apertured transverse plates, rods adapted to be inserted in the apertures of said plates and through the cut-outs of certain of said cards, a shaft oscillatably mounted in the bottom of the container, an arm in the shaft for raising and lowering the frame, an elongated selector bar mounted on the frame for lateral movement with respect thereto, said selector provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper surface adapted. to receive the projections on the cards, a lug on the selector bar adapted to be engaged by the arm to move the selector bar in one direction, and a pin carried by the shaft for use in moving the selector bar in the opposite direction.

FRED L. WALKER, JR,

WM. E. STORY, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,702,748 Rufalo Feb. 19, 1929 Number Number 10 583,391 713,179 829,953 844,775

Name Date Jones Apr. 6, 1943 'Rembold Jan. 8, 1944 Nevin Feb. 22, 1944 Rembold- July 15, 1947 Gorad Dec. 27, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great-Britain Dec. 17, 1946 Germany 1941 France 1. 1938 France 1939 

